Sierra Nevada Corporation

Sierra Nevada Corporation
Company type	Private
Industry	Aerospace, defense, electronics, engineering, manufacturing
Founded	1963
Founder	John Chisholm
Headquarters	Sparks, Nevada, United States
Area served	United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey
Key people	Fatih Ozmen (CEO), Eren Ozmen (President)
Products	Aircraft modification, systems integration, space technology, Dream Chaser spaceplane, RocketMotorTwo engine, STPSat-5 satellite, Light Air Support aircraft modifications, Persistent Wide-Area Airborne Surveillance systems, Transport Telemedicine System
Number of employees	5,000 (2022)

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is a U.S.-based enterprise specializing in aerospace, defense, electronics, engineering, and manufacturing, with expertise in aircraft modification, systems integration, and space technology. Headquartered in Sparks, Nevada, SNC maintains 36 operational sites throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Turkey. Leading the company are CEO Fatih Ozmen and President Eren Ozmen.

In 2021, SNC reported revenues near US$2.4 billion and employed about 5,000 personnel as of 2022. Its primary business strategy revolves around contracts with the Defense Department, NASA, and private spaceflight firms. The company has played a role in more than 500 successful space missions, including 14 missions targeting Mars.

The year 2021 saw the launch of SNC’s subsidiary, Sierra Space, created to further develop the Dream Chaser spaceplane and to collaborate with Blue Origin on a Commercial Space Station initiative. With visionary leadership and a broad aerospace portfolio, SNC holds a prominent position within the global aerospace and defense sectors.

History

Established in 1963 by entrepreneur John Chisholm alongside a small team operating out of a hangar at Reno Stead Airport, the company was acquired in 1994 by Fatih Ozmen and Eren Ozmen. Fatih Ozmen, initially hired by Chisholm in 1981, contributed significantly to expanding the firm into a multi-billion-dollar organization employing over 4,000 staff members. The company’s main focus remains securing contracts from the US Department of Defense and NASA.

In 2016, SNC extended its operations by constructing a 130,000-square-foot aircraft modification center in Meridianville, Alabama, near Madison County Executive Airport. This expansion was complemented by a subsequent 60,800-square-foot facility designed to accommodate seven Beechcraft Super King Air/C-12/MC-12S aircraft. These sites enable the conversion of commercial planes into military surveillance platforms such as the US Army’s EMARSS system.

On September 18, 2024, China imposed sanctions on nine U.S. defense contractors—including this corporation—in response to their participation in arms sales to Taiwan.

Space systems

After acquiring SpaceDev in December 2008, SNC began development of the Dream Chaser orbital spacecraft. In April 2021, it established Sierra Space as an independent commercial space entity dedicated to advancing the reusable Dream Chaser spaceplane and partnering with Blue Origin on a commercial space station endeavor.

Dream Chaser spaceplane

In February 2010, Sierra Nevada Corporation secured $20 million in initial funding during phase one of NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program—the largest portion of a $50 million allocation—to develop the Dream Chaser vehicle.

By August 2012, NASA had granted SNC $212.5 million through the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) program to progress Dream Chaser’s design and testing phases with the objective of reinstating U.S. human spaceflight capabilities within five years. This project resurrects NASA’s HL-20 lifting-body concept.

In July 2014, SNC partnered with Tuskegee University to aid Dream Chaser’s development efforts. The following month saw SNC collaborate with Lockheed Martin to reveal the composite airframe intended for Dream Chaser’s inaugural orbital flight planned for 2016.

The Dream Chaser initiative—known as the "Dream Team"—includes aerospace leaders such as Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance, NASA centers, academic institutions, and international agencies from Europe, Germany, and Japan.

Despite these developments, SNC was not awarded the 2014 Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract; Boeing ($4.2 billion) and SpaceX ($2.6 billion) were selected instead. NASA noted that Dream Chaser’s winged architecture presented greater complexity and higher developmental risk along with lower technical readiness compared to competitors. SNC CEO Mark Sirangelo described this outcome as deeply disappointing for the company.

SNC challenged NASA’s decision by filing a protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which was subsequently denied. Undeterred by setbacks, SNC repurposed Dream Chaser for cargo missions and secured a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contract in January 2016 to conduct at least six resupply flights to the ISS between 2019 and 2024.

For these cargo operations, SNC chose United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket as Dream Chaser’s launch vehicle starting in 2022, strengthening its foothold within the commercial spaceflight sector.

RocketMotorTwo and STPSat-5

The company acted as the primary contractor for the RocketMotorTwo engine utilized in Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, responsible for designing the rocket propulsion system for Scaled Composites, which also included the engine for SpaceShipOne. In April 2013, SpaceShipTwo achieved its inaugural powered flight test powered by RocketMotorTwo. Following an unsuccessful bid for NASA's commercial crew program, Sierra Nevada downsized the RocketMotorTwo team in September 2014 and permanently shut down its propulsion development site in Poway, California by November, merging propulsion activities with Orbital Technologies Corp.

In October 2014, Sierra Nevada Space Systems was awarded a $13.26 million contract by the United States Department of Defense to design and manufacture the STPSat-5 satellite as part of the Space Test Program.

Artemis Human Landing System proposal

SNC Space Systems collaborated with Dynetics to engage in preliminary design investigations for NASA’s Artemis Human Landing System (HLS). Their HLS concept was among three chosen for detailed evaluation alongside proposals from Blue Origin and SpaceX. NASA recognized innovative aspects such as fuel drop tanks and a crew module positioned low in the vehicle, while identifying the propulsion system—featuring SNC’s Vortex engines—as a higher-risk component due to its limited development maturity. The Dynetics-led proposal earned "very good" scores in both technical and management categories, ranking it highest among competitors.

Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) spacecraft

The firm successfully completed a two-year orbital research mission for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) using the Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) spacecraft operating in medium Earth orbit (MEO). This initiative advanced technology readiness for potential future United States Department of Defense (DoD) satellite deployments within MEO’s challenging radiation conditions. Principal research efforts focused on experiments including the Wave Particle Interaction Experiment (WPIx), Space Weather Experiment (SWx), and Space Environmental Effects (SFx). Robert Johnston, principal investigator, emphasized DSX’s valuable contributions toward enhancing national security and expanding DoD knowledge of space environmental effects.

Predator

By 2001, Sierra Nevada was providing landing gear components for the Predator drone, supporting its operational deployment.

C-145A Skytruck

In 2009, Sierra Nevada undertook modifications to convert the Polish PZL M28 Skytruck into the C-145A Skytruck variant for use by the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). Following a single crash incident in Afghanistan in 2011, eleven aircraft were retired by 2015. Subsequently, three units were transferred to Kenya, two each to Costa Rica and Nepal, and two more to Estonia. In 2017, Sierra Nevada assumed maintenance responsibilities for these AFSOC aircraft, strengthening its role in sustaining specialized military platforms.

Light Air Support

Starting in 2013, Sierra Nevada partnered with Embraer to promote the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano as a Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance platform under the USAF’s A-29 Super Tucano initiative.

Operators:

Afghan Security Forces: Received 26 aircraft between 2014 and 2017 through a contract valued at $1.8 billion.
Lebanon: Delivered six aircraft during 2017–2018.
Nigeria: Contracted for 12 armed aircraft totaling $593 million; initially delayed due to human rights concerns but approved in 2017 after discussions between President Donald Trump and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. The first unit was finalized in 2020.
United States:
- Air Force Special Operations Command: Supplied three aircraft under an initial $129 million contract intended for combat aviation advisory missions.

Persistent Wide-Area Airborne Surveillance

Gorgon Stare represents a remotely piloted, airborne Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance (WAPS) platform and stands as the United States Air Force's sole operational system delivering continuous day and night wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) capabilities. Since March 2011, it has consistently conducted extended missions across various operational theaters, providing thousands of hours of direct combat assistance.

In early 2014, the U.S. Air Force introduced an enhanced version of the Gorgon Stare system, which expanded coverage capacity by four times and doubled image resolution compared to the original model. This upgrade includes two sophisticated sensor turrets: one electro-optical (EO) sensor utilizing Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ARGUS technology, and an infrared (IR) sensor equipped with the largest IR arrays currently available.

Transport Telemedicine System

The Transport Telemedicine System developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation enables the capture and transmission of patient care information from the injury location to receiving medical facilities. In September 2014, SNC showcased this technology to the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency during the Nevada Telemedicine Summit, with operational support provided by the Nevada Army National Guard MEDEVAC unit.

Multi-mission aircraft

In July 2014, SNC's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) division based in Centennial, Colorado secured a contract to supply and operate two multi-mission aircraft (MMA) for Colorado’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC). These aircraft, derived from the Pilatus PC-12, are outfitted with electro-optical sensors and communication systems that facilitate early wildfire detection and enable real-time data sharing through the Colorado Wildfire Information Management System (CO-WIMS). Additionally, they have been deployed in search-and-rescue operations and environmental monitoring tasks.

In 2016, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) awarded SNC a firm-fixed-price contract valued at $280 million to design and integrate 12 Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA). Subsequently, in 2020, CBP Air and Marine Operations placed a $47 million order for two more MEAs—the 24th and 25th units—anticipated for delivery by early 2022.

Current operators include:

US Army Task Force ODIN
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, operating at least part of their 25-aircraft King Air fleet; 12 aircraft supplied through the $280 million contract awarded in 2016
Royal Saudi Air Force, with four aircraft acquired for $185 million
Jamaica Defence Force, which procured one ISR-equipped plane in 2018
Kuwait Air Force, ordering four aircraft in 2018 valued at $259 million, featuring Seaspray 7500 AESA radar, WESCAM EO/IR imaging systems, communications suites, missile warning systems, and countermeasures

These multi-mission platforms strengthen SNC’s position within the ISR market by supporting a wide array of international operations with cutting-edge surveillance capabilities tailored to client specifications.

Dornier 328 and 328JET

In 2015, Sierra Nevada Corporation acquired 328 Support Services GmbH (328 SSG), gaining maintenance rights and type certificate ownership for both the Dornier 328 and Fairchild-Dornier 328JET. Later that year, an agreement was reached with the Turkish government to manufacture these aircraft as T328 and TR328 variants. Plans were also made to develop larger regional jets seating between 60 and 70 passengers under the Turkish regional jet project branded as "628" models; however, this initiative was discontinued in 2017. Despite this setback, SNC together with 328 SSG continues to investigate opportunities for reviving production of the Dornier 328 and 328JET platforms as part of their strategic expansion into regional aircraft markets.

Survivable Airborne Operations Center

In May 2024, Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded a $13 billion agreement by the U.S. Air Force to design and manufacture the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), intended to replace the outdated E-4B "Nightwatch" aircraft. This cutting-edge airborne command system guarantees the uninterrupted continuity of national military leadership by delivering a resilient platform for senior defense officials.

The contract spans until July 2036 and includes the substitution of four E-4B aircraft. SNC secured this contract without competition after Boeing withdrew its bid in 2023, underscoring SNC’s strong position in strategic defense procurement. The SAOC utilizes the Boeing 747-8I airframe; SNC purchased five Boeing 747-8 jets from Korean Air for modification purposes. These planes will be reinforced to withstand nuclear and electromagnetic hazards and outfitted with aerial refueling capabilities to enable prolonged flight operations, highlighting SNC’s prominence in sophisticated military aviation advancements.

False Claims Act lawsuit

In 2017, Sierra Nevada Corporation resolved a lawsuit initiated by the Justice Department accusing the company of inflating charges on U.S. government contracts between 2007 and 2011, breaching the False Claims Act. The settlement amounted to $14.9 million, with SNC neither admitting nor denying wrongdoing.

Lobbying and political influence

SNC has been recognized since 2007 for its targeted political contributions managed through its Sierra Nevada PAC, which was established in 2001. In 2004, then-Nevada Congressman and Armed Services Committee member Jim Gibbons advocated for SNC’s receipt of a $4 million no-bid contract related to helicopter technology, while SNC simultaneously provided political consulting payments to his spouse, Dawn Gibbons. These transactions came under scrutiny during grand jury investigations revealed in 2007.

In 2009, SNC was implicated in lobbying controversies involving the PMA Group and Congressman Pete Visclosky, who served on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. SNC compensated PMA $280,000 in 2006 for lobbying services. Although Visclosky was cleared by the House Ethics Committee, an internal SNC email revealed that the company benefited from over $10 million in earmarked funds due to his backing. Observers characterized this relationship as a de facto exchange of favors.

Wuhan Virology Institute report

During 2020, SNC’s Multi-Agency Collaboration Environment (MACE) team authored a report distributed within the Department of Defense and Congressional circles suggesting that the Wuhan Institute of Virology had temporarily ceased operations in October, lending support to the COVID-19 lab leak theory. The analysis was based on patterns derived from cellphone location data near the facility during that timeframe. Nevertheless, Western intelligence agencies deemed these conclusions inconclusive following satellite image evaluations.

The report attracted significant criticism; The Daily Beast countered that fluctuations in cellphone data were more likely due to nearby roadwork. It also pointed out that the report depended on very limited data sets—sometimes involving as few as seven devices for an institute employing hundreds. Intelligence officials and health experts interviewed by NBC News and Congressional personnel expressed widespread doubt regarding the report’s validity.

Acquisition Timeline

ORBITEC (July 2014)
3S Engineering (September 2012)
SpaceDev, Inc. (December 2008)
MicroSat Systems, Inc. (January 2008)
WaveBand Corporation (May 2005)
Turtle Mountain Communications, Inc. (June 2003)
Plano Microwave, Inc. (October 2001)

External Links

Sierra Nevada Corporation official site